Misleading labelling

Golden Circle labelling still said "Australian Owned" in 2010, even though Heinz bought Golden Circle back in Dec 2008. Heinz was ordered to take correction measures by the ACCC.

Source: ACCC (2010)

Red rating in Canned Tuna Guide

Lowest rating in Greenpeace's Canned Tuna Guide. "Greenseas is miles behind at 10th place and the bottom of the pile. It is the only brand to have abandoned its commitment to sustainability. It was the first big brand to make the positive commitment to stop using destructive FADs, but has failed to follow through. Greenseas fails the transparency test ? providing no evidence to prove it can trace where its tuna comes from. It has also removed commitments and sustainability information from its website. Its human rights record is unknown. None of this is good enough. Vote with your wallet, and choose another brand." [Listed under Information due to age of report]

Source: Canned Tuna Guide (2017)

Job cuts

In May 2011 Heinz Australia announced it is to cut more than 300 jobs when it moves some of its Victorian, NSW and Queensland operations to New Zealand. Heinz will still employ 1400 Australians across four sites. Heinz CEO Nigel Comer said "there's a duplication of the infrastructure in factories across the region and it's been a trend of our company over a number of years to actually move production between countries."

Source: news article (2011)

Organic products

Company retails, manufactures or distributes products that are certified organic under the Australian Certified Organic label.

Source: ACO (2022)

Palm oil free products

Some, but not necessarily all, of this company's frozen food products are palm oil free. For more details, follow the link to see Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia's list of products which manufacturers have told them are palm oil free or contain segregated certified sustainable palm oil.

Source: BOS Australia (2020)

Dolphin safe

This company is listed by the Earth Island Institute as an approved dolphin-safe tuna processing company. This company has pledged to abide by the Earth Island international 'Dolphin Safe' tuna standards of no encirclement of dolphins or other marine mammals during an entire fishing trip, no accidental deaths or serious injuries of any dolphins, and no use of drift gill nets.

Source: Earth Island Institute (2020)

Vegan Australia Certified products

This company sells products certified vegan by Vegan Australia.

Source: Vegan Australia (2024)

Plastic pollution

In 2018 volunteers collected and catalogued more than 187,000 pieces of trash from beach cleanups around the world to find out which corporations are contributing the most to the global plastic pollution problem. While not in the top 10, this company ranked as one of the world's worst plastic polluters.

Source: #breakfreefromplastic (2018)

Irresponsible BMS marketing

This company is named and shamed in IBFAN's 2017 report, 'Breaking the Rules, Stretching the Rules 2017', evidence of violations of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (BMS), compiled from June 2014 to June 2017. The report covers 792 Code violations from 79 countries and by 28 companies. [Listed under Information due to age of report]

Source: IBFAN (2017)

Possible GE in US brands

This company has products rated RED in the Centre for Food Safety's True Food Shopper's Guide (USA). Products on the RED list contain ingredients that come from the most common GE crops (corn, soy, canola, cotton). Companies with products on this list have confirmed that their products may have or are likely to be made with GE ingredients, or have not denied using GE foods when given the opportunity to do so.

Source: Center for Food Safety USA (2018)

3.6% in Newsweek Green Ranking 2017

This company received a score of 3.6/100 in the Newsweek Green Ranking 2017, which ranks the world's largest publicly traded companies on eight indicators covering energy, greenhouse gases, water, waste, fines and penalties, linking executive pay to sustainability targets, board-level committee oversight of environmental issues and third-party audits. Ranking methodology by Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.

Source: Newsweek (2017)

CEO Pay Ratio of 164:1

In 2022 the median pay for a worker at this company was US$43,160. The CEO was paid 164 times this amount. Exorbitant CEO pay is a major contributor to rising inequality. CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay, not because they are increasing productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills. The economy would suffer no harm if CEOs were paid less (or taxed more). In contrast, the CEO-to-typical-worker compensation ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965 and 58-to-1 in 1989.

Source: AFL-CIO (2023)

Climate action commitments

As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target.

Source: We Mean Business (2021)

Gender equality

This company appears on the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, signifying a commitment to supporting gender equality through policy development, representation, and transparency.

Source: Bloomberg (2023)

Cage-free eggs commitment

This company is listed on the RSPCA Australia website as 'cage-free and proud', signifying a commitment to source 100% cage-free eggs by 2025. Essentially cage-free means barn laid, which is better than cage eggs, but still much worse than free-range or organic eggs when it comes to animal welfare.

Source: RSPCA Australia (2024)

Sustainable Agriculture Initiative member

This company is a member of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform, the main food industry initiative supporting the development of sustainable agriculture worldwide. Created by Nestle, Unilever and Danone in 2002, the SAI Platform is a non-profit organization to facilitate sharing, at precompetitive level, of knowledge and initiatives to support the development and implementation of sustainable agriculture practices involving the different stakeholders of the food chain.

Source: SAI Platform (2023)

Non-GMO products in USA

This company has products that have been verified as compliant with the Non-GMO Project Standard, North America's only independent verification for products made according to best practices for GMO avoidance.

Source: Non-GMO Project (2021)

How2Recycle member

This company is a member of How2Recycle. The How2Recycle Label is a voluntary, standardized labeling system that clearly communicates recycling instructions to the public. It involves a coalition of forward thinking brands who want their packaging to be recycled and are empowering consumers through smart packaging labels. Companies must be a member of the program to use the How2Recycle Label.

Source: How2Recycle (2023)

US Plastics Pact signatory

This company is a signatory to the US Plastics Pact, a collaborative effort organized by The Recycling Partnership and the World Wildlife Fund, launched as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's global Plastics Pact network to unify diverse public-private stakeholders across the plastics value chain to rethink the way we design, use, and reuse plastics, to create a path forward to realize a circular economy for plastic in the United States. In line with the Ellen McArthur Foundation's vision of a circular economy for plastics, which unites more than 850+ organizations, the US Plastics Pact brings together companies, government entities, NGOs, researchers, and other stakeholders to work collectively toward scalable solutions tailored to the unique needs and challenges within the U.S. landscape, through vital knowledge sharing and coordinated action.

Source: US Plastics Pact (2023)

41.8% in Forest 500 Rankings

Forest 500 identifies the 350 companies and 150 financial institutions with the greatest exposure to tropical deforestation risk, and annually assesses them on the strength and implementation of their deforestation and human rights commitments. This company received a score of 41.8%.

Source: Forest 500 (2023)

CDP Forests score of C

In 2023, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts towards removing commodity-driven deforestation and forest degradation from its direct operations and supply chains. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Forests score of C.

Source: CDP (2023)

Modern Slavery statement

California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.

Source: company website (2017)

8/20 in Social Benchmark

The 2024 Social Benchmark assesses the world's 2,000 most influential companies on their responsibility in meeting society's fundamental expectations towards three measurement areas: respecting human rights, providing decent work, and acting ethically. This company was assessed in 2023 and received a score of 8/20. The average score was an alarmingly low 4.6/20 and the highest score was 15.5/20.

Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2024)

Investment in nanotechnology

Friends of the Earth's 2014 report "Tiny Ingredients, Big Risks" names Heinz as one of over 200 transnational food companies engaged in nanotechnology research and development, and on their way to commercializing products. New studies are adding to a growing body of scientific evidence indicating nanomaterials may be toxic to humans and the environment.

Source: FOE (2014)

59/100 S&P Global ESG Score

This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 59/100 in the Food Products category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 18 Nov 2022). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.

Source: S&P Global (2022)

JUST Capital ranking

JUST Capital polls Americans every year to identify the issues that matter most in defining just business behaviour. For their 2024 rankings the public identified 20 issues, which are organised under the headings Workers, Communities, Customers, Shareholders and Environment. JUST Capital then define metrics that map to those issues and track and analyse the largest, publicly traded U.S. companies. This analysis powers their rankings, in which this company ranked 432nd of 937 companies, and 18th of 32 Food, Beverage & Tobacco companies.

Source: JUST Capital (2024)

OpenSecrets.org profile

OpenSecrets.org tracks the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens' lives. Follow link to see this company's record of political donations, lobbying, outside spending and more.

Source: Open Secrets (2020)

28.5% in Food and Agriculture Benchmark

The 2023 Food and Agriculture Benchmark assessed 350 keystone companies across the entirety of the food system, from farm to fork. It covers three dimensions where transformation is needed: nutrition, environment and social inclusion. This company ranked #69/350, with a total score of 28.5/100.

Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2023)

26.7% in Nature Benchmark

The Nature Benchmark ranks 816 companies across 20 industries on their efforts to protect our environment and its biodiversity. Companies were assessed in three phases between 2022 and 2024 using three measurement areas: governance and strategy; social inclusion and community impact; and ecosystems and biodiversity. This company was assessed in 2023 and is ranked #122/816, with a total score of 26.7/100.

Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2023)